‘LEGO SAVED MY LIFE’
To pay for her surgery, the star had to make the ultimate sacrifice
For US Lego Masters icon Krystle Starr, travelling all the way from Texas to Australia to appear in the current series of Lego Masters Australia is “a dream” she never thought would happen. In 2020, as she was riding high on the success of her rst appearance on the reality show in the States, Krystle was dealt the most horrible blow. “After years of being told I had Bell’s palsy, I was nally diagnosed with a brain tumour,” the 36-year-old tells Woman’s Day.
“It was the size of a grain of rice, however it was growing around my fth facial nerve and it made the entire left side of my face and the muscles down my neck paralysed. It was an intense time.”
Krystle says because of the state of health care in the US and that “for some insane reason” her procedure was considered cosmetic, the gamer and hardcore block collector was forced to pay for her treatment out of her own pocket, meaning she had to sell a big chunk of her Lego collection.
“at was hard because it’s part of my identity,” she says somberly.
“But it taught me a beautiful lesson that things come and go, and you don’t have to own a million Lego [kits] to appreciate it.
So in a way, it was rather freeing and nice.”
BUILDING BACK UP
Despite the doctor’s predictions – they gave her just a 50/50 chance of being fully paralysed in the left side of her face after surgery – the procedure was a success, and the ordeal has left Krystle with a newfound gratitude for life. She is grabbing every opportunity that comes her way with both hands.
Soon after her procedure, she was invited back to Lego Masters in the US to appear in their holiday special – which she won – and this month will feature in Lego Masters’ massive Australia Vs e World season.
“To be on television again is something I never thought would happen,” she says.
“Being over in Australia was a dream – it was so much fun. I loved it. Especially the accents,” she giggles.
‘It was the size of a grain of rice, however it was growing’